The Combes walk from Puech de Cassagne-Comtaux

Starting point: Puech de Cassagnes-Comtaux.

(S/E) Head down the RD 651 and take the second track on the right: the Chemin de la Croix Saint-Laurent. Take the first right, then at the second junction go straight ahead and continue to a crossroads of footpaths.

(1) Turn left at the Fork in the road and then left onto the Route du Lac, then turn right onto the Chemin des Chênes. At the Fork in the road, turn right and continue straight on to La Palairie.

(2) At the junction, leave the hamlet of La Palairie on your right and carry on straight ahead along the Route de Clairvaux, then turn left onto the Route du Bois de l’Homs until you reach the crossroads at the end.

(3) Turn left onto a wide track, which you then leave to continue straight ahead along a sunken path. Follow the path to the end.

(4) Turn left onto a farm track which rejoins the Route de Clairvaux. Cross over and take the Chemin des Combes straight ahead, which leads to the hamlet of Le Lac.

(5) At the crossroads, turn right onto the Route de la Borie de Cassagnes, and at the bend, between two buildings, take the Sentier du Point de Vue de Cassagnes straight ahead until you reach the viewpoint on the left at the end of the path(magnificent panoramic view over the Clairvaux valley and the vineyards).

(6) With your back to the viewpoint, rejoin the RD 651 to the right, heading towards the Puech de Cassagnes-Comtaux (S/E).

Practical information

·Toilets and drinking fountains near the village hall at Puech de Cassagnes-Comtaux

·Picnic tables: Puech de Cassagnes and the Borie de Cassagnes drystone shelter

·Outdoor defibrillators at the Cassagnes-Comtaux village hall

Nearby

In Cassagnes-Comtaux:

-Former 15th-century fortified town, church, historic houses, ruins

-Marcillac vineyards; Domaine du Cros (sales and tastings)

-Panoramic views over the Marcillac vineyards, the Clairvaux valley and Bruéjouls

-The Serre dolmen, listed as a historic monument

-In La Palairie: the ‘Nos Campagnes d’Autrefois’ museum, showcasing rural life before 1950

-At the Bois de l’Homs: the source of the Alzou, a tributary of the Aveyron